Using Technology as a Sales Tool (Video)

Video Transcript: I am a high utilitarian type of person. This means that every decision I make is based on the question “Is there a return on my investment of time?” The things that I’m talking about here today aren’t “new” or “geeky” things. What I am talking about today is things that we should already be using right now, and right here. The first one is a follow-up schedule. Looking at a good example of a follow-up schedule shows you that it’s a lot of stuff. You need to be borderline abusive with your customers! I say, you’ve to take those prospects, and “ride them like a pony!” You do not let them go!

Sales Managers: The biggest problem is that this is not happening. Do you have the phone ringing off the hook with people complaining about your sales agents, saying, “They will not leave me alone”? Does anybody, any sales managers, get these calls? What if you did get that call? What if they called and said, “I can’t believe it, Elizabeth will not stop calling me. She will not stop emailing”. Of course you would respond, “I’m so sorry. She’s just young with a young family. She’s just trying to make it work. She’s just trying to make a living. I’m so sorry.” Then you’d hang up the phone and call her up and say, “Elizabeth, THAT’S WHAT I’M TALKING ABOUT!!!!!” But customers are not out there blasting all of us and saying, “TOO MUCH FOLLOW-UP!” It’s not enough follow-up, and the question is why. Why do we not have enough follow-up? Why is this not happening with our customers? Because we don’t have a system, and we don’t have a process. No system, no process, no tool.

It is logistically and humanly impossible for you to do this on your own with a paper system, with a note-card system. One builder said, “Yeah, I’ve got a great follow-up system. It’s called the sicker system. To this I ask, “What do you put the stickers on?” The response? “On paper.” It doesn’t make any sense. You’ve got to have a CRM system. It’s a learning curve. In fact, it may be a culture shift. Here is the biggest challenge I see, because I work with sales agents and sales teams all across the country. They should be able to use it. But a lot of us think, especially IT, “What man? You can’t do it? What’s wrong with you?” Am I right? They speak one language, and your salespeople speak another language.

User adoption of these tools is probably the biggest challenge that most sales teams have, and here’s the other problem with it: We don’t even focus enough time getting our agents comfortable with it, getting our sales team comfortable with it. We say “You should be able to use it and do it on your own”, but guess what? A lot of agents can call B.S. on you. Why? They’ll say, “I don’t know how to do _____ (fill in the blank),” and you’re like, “Oh shoot, well I’m sure we can get that figured out. “ followed by “I’d love to help you, Hey…. What’s my password?” Think about that. We don’t log in enough. We don’t use it enough. There is so much power there, and we don’t use it. I encourage all of you to take the time and train your sales agents on the things that are going to create sales, because…..they will create sales.

You have to do it. You have to set time aside to do it. You teach them closing skills right? Teach them CRM skills. You teach them demonstration skills, right? Teach them CRM Skills. You see what’s happening? You teach them how to build rapport? Teach them how to follow-up. Show them the best use of email. When they should send emails. How they should send them. How to use video email! How fast they should you be? What they should you say on the phone? Let’s record their calls. Let’s coach.

COACH, COACH, COACH. TRAIN, TRAIN, TRAIN! I heard another company I work with say: “Coach them up, or coach them out.” That’s a good term, isn’t it? Write that down. Coach them up, or Coach them out. It should happen here too.